Dad Who Wears Skirts Encourages Son's Cross-Dressing
A father in Germany is gaining notoriety after reports that he wore dresses to support his young son who likes wearing them.
Reports indicate that Nils Pickert, who lives in a traditional, small town in southern Germany, noticed that his 5-year-old son had an affinity to women's clothing and especially the colorful dresses, but that he was continually teased by other kids in the neighborhood and began to become increasingly reluctant to go to school, reigniting a long standing debate over gender identity.
"A person cannot choose whether they are male or female, that is something that is intrinsic in their body at birth," Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council. His statement represents the traditional values, but Pickert had other ideas.
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To address the issue, Pickert considered persuading his son to wear more gender-appropriate clothing and even thought to tell his son to ignore the other kids who were teasing him, according to Germany's EMMA magazine.
Pickert, however, decided that the best support he could provide for his son and the right example he could set for him was to wear a dress just like his son.
"I didn't want to talk my son into not wearing dresses and skirts. He didn't make friends in doing that in Berlin already, and after a lot of contemplation, I had only one option left: To broaden my shoulders for my little buddy and dress in a skirt myself," he said, according to a translated passage from EMMA.
Yet, those parents with experience with gender-confused children understand that what may seem like a good decision- letting a child wear clothes for the opposite sex- say that the trouble only worsens as their children get older. Their identity becomes increasing confused over time.
"I know, from my own experience, that some children do not conform to the conventional behavior expected of their gender anyway. But I know also that there came a time when I had to put a stop to my boy's 'girlish' instincts. I knew it was my duty as a parent to make it stop- for reasons that will come to later," Lorraine Candy, editor-in-chief of Elle magazine's U.K. edition, said during an interview.
Because of the example that was set for him, Pickert stated that his son is no longer afraid or discouraged from wearing dresses and that the teasing from other boys does not bother him anymore.
